High School Narrative
In 1978, I was attending High Point Elementary School located in Clearwater, Florida. That particular day, I can remember it like it was yesterday. Before I went to school, I had chores to do around the apartment each morning. One of these chores, I had to do immediately when I awoke was to take my two dogs outside for exercise, feed, water, and allow them to relieve themselves. During this course of events, I noticed how low the clouds were that morning. It appeared to me that a big storm was coming in from the Gulf of New Mexico. I remember looking up and thinking to myself, “if I was on top of second floor of the apartment building I could have touched the clouds.” As a child thinking it was pretty neat and very unusual circumstances for
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this type of weather. I went inside and told my mother about the clouds outside and I was thinking about this big storm was coming in from the gulf. So, I went around the apartment and closed all the windows. After we ate breakfast, we left the apartment walking to the car in a hurry. I remember my mother making a statement, “I don’t have a good feeling about these clouds let’s hurry up and get to the car before your late for school.” I could see the extreme concern and the anxiety building up in her facial expressions with the sound of her voice that morning. I asked her, “ What is wrong?” She replied, “I think something bad is going to happen with the clouds.” I guess mothers have this natural sixth sense that a mother acquires when she becomes a mother and their intuition capabilities with certain situations. In this particular situation, the authors, Lamanna, Reidmann, and Stewart discuss and elaborate on nine types of stressors in Chapter 13 “Family Stress, Crisis, and Resilience.” This type of family ecology event with my mother started to develop in what the authors call “Sudden, Unexpected Change.” with the serious change in weather brought on s sense of fear with the low cloud coverage. (p. 338) The course of the family crisis phases, I believe my mother was feeling some pressure due this unexpected storm that came out the Gulf that morning.
As my mother dropped me off at school, like all mothers do with providing me with the typical mother speech about behave in school, come home right after school, and let the dogs out. I get out the car and ran across the school parking lot for my morning Reading and English class in the downpour of rain now. I made it to class on time, but I was soaked from the rain. During this class period, the teacher was providing us an over view for our reading assignment before we were scheduled to go to lunch. That day, another classmate and I was next to the multi-window structured wall that provided the only natural light in the room and the register was blowing out heat. I was sitting there listening to the teacher, but I was distracted by the rain pounding on the windows and noticed how hard the rain was coming down outside. I looked outside and you could not see more than foot in front of you. At that moment, I remember looking down at the ground to see how much water was on the ground and a bird was trying to fly by the window. But, the bird was being pushed to the ground due to the pressure from the rain. Then the teacher said, “We are going to hold off going to lunch for a moment until the rain let’s up.” I look back know and remember the teacher’s facial expression that grew from a very calm person to pure panic in her eyes in a split second, this unexpected change describe for individuals under the nine common stressors by our co-authors. The teacher eyes got wide as softballs and she started shaking, then yells out “Everyone get on the floor now!” I had barely enough time to hit the floor before I heard a large sound like a locomotive coming and then a huge explosion going off. The wall of windows exploded and I felt myself being pushed across the floor by the force of the tornado and the table hit me on top my head,
then I felt sharp pains in my legs and being covered in about two to three foot of dirt with debris. I lay there for a moment not knowing what happened and asking myself if I was still alive or not. I did not know what I should do or if it was going to continue. I really could not breath due to the debris and dirt that covered me. However, I heard my classmates screaming and yelling with panic. I started to dig myself out the debris and removing the cylinder blocks and the roof from around me. I got up from the floor trying to collect my balance and wipe away what I thought was water coming from my face, but it was blood streaming down from a cut on my head. I noticed something entered my knee and I could only hobble around. A classmate of mine, I remember her turning around and looking at me. Then all of a sudden she started screaming and she ran towards the teacher. I can remember seeing the terror in my classmates’ eyes. I believe it was due to my physical condition and split second change in our ecology situation with the tornado brought instant disorganization throughout the classroom, school, and the community. The majority of the children ran to the teacher that was trapped underneath debris and the students clinging to her for their safety but she showed her resistance with the situation and giving directions to the children. I heard people yelling in what was left of a hallway asking if anyone was in here. I moved over to one of my classmates and he was in bad shape. The round rebar wire from the cylinder block construction of the building impaled him in his back and he could not move. I was telling him I would go and get some help. I tried opening the door but the door was wedge shut due to the structural damage. Some man was outside the door. He kicked open the door and grab me and asked me if I was all right. He handed me over to another man and he also asked me if I was okay and if I could make to the lunchroom. I made my way from the classroom and what was left of the building in front our classrooms was leveled. Finally, after made it to the gym/Cafeteria the entire scene what the authors would describe as demoralizing event with disorganization among the school officials with the multi level of stressors among the victims and the community that has set anxiety about the Children in a “Culture of Fear”. (P. 340) I did not stay long at the Cafeteria, we were loaded on the bus and sent to a local hospital. Upon our arrival the doctors and nurses were placing us in examination rooms by medical category. Then medical personnel were sounding off with wounded categories in the hospital triage stations. Well, needless to say. I felt I was physically all right compared to some of my classmates and wanted to go home. However, I had shards of glass in my legs and one penetrated my knee that they had to be removed and a couple of stitches. Then had to scrub my head due to all the debris and cleaned out all the cuts on my head. After I received medical care, I was placed in a room and told to wait there until our parents were contacted to pick us up. You have to understand at this point this natural disaster was state wide due to multiple of tornados touched down in center Florida. This was breaking news and all types of broadcasting station on scene broadcasting over the T.V. stations, radio and word of mouth. My mother was at work and when she heard the news. At this point, I can safely assume my mother was feeling the stress from the anxiety of the situation about her child in what is stated by the authors as “Culture of Fear.” She left work immediately and headed to the school. However, it was blocked off and could not drive directly up to the school. At this point, she abandoned her vehicle and ran to the school. Upon arriving the majority of the children were already loaded up and sent to multiple of hospitals in the area. However, during her search for me my mother was with another mother who was notified by officials at the scene that her son was deceased. During this catastrophic situation, the authorities could not tell my mother where I was at or even if I made it to a hospital. I am not real sure what family crisis stage she must have been in at this point, but I can assume being told if her son was alive or not was unknown. A good probability to say, she was in stress overload with the ambiguous loss state of mind until she could find me or receive official notification about my status. In addition, being with the woman who was just notified that her son is deceased did not help matters either. (p. 336, 342) During this chaos, my mother figured out which hospital I was at, when one of the local TV’s broadcasting stations provided news coverage live from the hospital. Guess who was being interviewed. Yes, it was I. A news reporter came up to me while I was eating a cookie and asked me “if I could tell him what happened at the school.” I began telling him about the event and what happened in my classroom. Well, my mother saw the broadcast from the gym TV monitor in the school. It was the only part of the school that was not destroyed by the tornado. Well, the disorganization phase was about to end to a certain degree with her knowing I was alive and well. Then the reorganization phase of us was quite of a reunion at the hospital. This family crisis made some changes dramatic changes in our lives. I know for a while the events impacted me with some nightmares of the tornado. I know for a long time when storms would form it would make me feel uneasy. But, over time I realized when the weather changed a tornado would not be formed all the time and it took certain weather conditions for that to happen with the help of school psychologist and support from our church. Prior to this period in our lives, my mother’s was a single parent struggling to make a living on her own and I was already in the process going to live with my father back in Ohio after the school year. It was due to her structural-functional lack of capability to provide economically the means to support us and the negative atmosphere that is referred by our co-authors family ecology that was a negative influence on me and safety factor for us. In lieu of this event the school had the parents and children meet with family counselors to work out the issues with this event. Also, we received support from our local community support organization like our local church. Also, our relatives was not in the area to help with this traumatic event with emotional support, but what our co-authors would describe as fictive kin would help provide that needed emotional and economic support for us. As I look back at this catastrophic event and I felt after reading this chapter helped me realize a few things about my mother and I. I felt that pileup of this event and other pre existing stressors had placed my family at nadir for disorganization but the resilience that we had to over come the panicle low what is termed by co-authors as nadir, the bottom point of our lives. We were able to overcome this situation because the close knit bond we had with each other to face adversity and sustain the family harmony was partly due to our family cultural norms and the support we had from the church and the fictive kin relationships that we had formed outside our nuclear family support groups. Overall, I felt this life event has made me a strong individual to face other adversities in my life that I faced growing up as a child and into my adult life. I look at it as another building block in this cognitive developmental phase that helps us build our character and personality through positive and negative nurturing experiences. As stated in the book with vulnerability and resilient some family crisis affect people in many different ways how they cope with it or buckle under the pressures they face due to their character development.
this type of weather. I went inside and told my mother about the clouds outside and I was thinking about this big storm was coming in from the gulf. So, I went around the apartment and closed all the windows. After we ate breakfast, we left the apartment walking to the car in a hurry. I remember my mother making a statement, “I don’t have a good feeling about these clouds let’s hurry up and get to the car before your late for school.” I could see the extreme concern and the anxiety building up in her facial expressions with the sound of her voice that morning. I asked her, “ What is wrong?” She replied, “I think something bad is going to happen with the clouds.” I guess mothers have this natural sixth sense that a mother acquires when she becomes a mother and their intuition capabilities with certain situations. In this particular situation, the authors, Lamanna, Reidmann, and Stewart discuss and elaborate on nine types of stressors in Chapter 13 “Family Stress, Crisis, and Resilience.” This type of family ecology event with my mother started to develop in what the authors call “Sudden, Unexpected Change.” with the serious change in weather brought on s sense of fear with the low cloud coverage. (p. 338) The course of the family crisis phases, I believe my mother was feeling some pressure due this unexpected storm that came out the Gulf that morning.
As my mother dropped me off at school, like all mothers do with providing me with the typical mother speech about behave in school, come home right after school, and let the dogs out. I get out the car and ran across the school parking lot for my morning Reading and English class in the downpour of rain now. I made it to class on time, but I was soaked from the rain. During this class period, the teacher was providing us an over view for our reading assignment before we were scheduled to go to lunch. That day, another classmate and I was next to the multi-window structured wall that provided the only natural light in the room and the register was blowing out heat. I was sitting there listening to the teacher, but I was distracted by the rain pounding on the windows and noticed how hard the rain was coming down outside. I looked outside and you could not see more than foot in front of you. At that moment, I remember looking down at the ground to see how much water was on the ground and a bird was trying to fly by the window. But, the bird was being pushed to the ground due to the pressure from the rain. Then the teacher said, “We are going to hold off going to lunch for a moment until the rain let’s up.” I look back know and remember the teacher’s facial expression that grew from a very calm person to pure panic in her eyes in a split second, this unexpected change describe for individuals under the nine common stressors by our co-authors. The teacher eyes got wide as softballs and she started shaking, then yells out “Everyone get on the floor now!” I had barely enough time to hit the floor before I heard a large sound like a locomotive coming and then a huge explosion going off. The wall of windows exploded and I felt myself being pushed across the floor by the force of the tornado and the table hit me on top my head,
then I felt sharp pains in my legs and being covered in about two to three foot of dirt with debris. I lay there for a moment not knowing what happened and asking myself if I was still alive or not. I did not know what I should do or if it was going to continue. I really could not breath due to the debris and dirt that covered me. However, I heard my classmates screaming and yelling with panic. I started to dig myself out the debris and removing the cylinder blocks and the roof from around me. I got up from the floor trying to collect my balance and wipe away what I thought was water coming from my face, but it was blood streaming down from a cut on my head. I noticed something entered my knee and I could only hobble around. A classmate of mine, I remember her turning around and looking at me. Then all of a sudden she started screaming and she ran towards the teacher. I can remember seeing the terror in my classmates’ eyes. I believe it was due to my physical condition and split second change in our ecology situation with the tornado brought instant disorganization throughout the classroom, school, and the community. The majority of the children ran to the teacher that was trapped underneath debris and the students clinging to her for their safety but she showed her resistance with the situation and giving directions to the children. I heard people yelling in what was left of a hallway asking if anyone was in here. I moved over to one of my classmates and he was in bad shape. The round rebar wire from the cylinder block construction of the building impaled him in his back and he could not move. I was telling him I would go and get some help. I tried opening the door but the door was wedge shut due to the structural damage. Some man was outside the door. He kicked open the door and grab me and asked me if I was all right. He handed me over to another man and he also asked me if I was okay and if I could make to the lunchroom. I made my way from the classroom and what was left of the building in front our classrooms was leveled. Finally, after made it to the gym/Cafeteria the entire scene what the authors would describe as demoralizing event with disorganization among the school officials with the multi level of stressors among the victims and the community that has set anxiety about the Children in a “Culture of Fear”. (P. 340) I did not stay long at the Cafeteria, we were loaded on the bus and sent to a local hospital. Upon our arrival the doctors and nurses were placing us in examination rooms by medical category. Then medical personnel were sounding off with wounded categories in the hospital triage stations. Well, needless to say. I felt I was physically all right compared to some of my classmates and wanted to go home. However, I had shards of glass in my legs and one penetrated my knee that they had to be removed and a couple of stitches. Then had to scrub my head due to all the debris and cleaned out all the cuts on my head. After I received medical care, I was placed in a room and told to wait there until our parents were contacted to pick us up. You have to understand at this point this natural disaster was state wide due to multiple of tornados touched down in center Florida. This was breaking news and all types of broadcasting station on scene broadcasting over the T.V. stations, radio and word of mouth. My mother was at work and when she heard the news. At this point, I can safely assume my mother was feeling the stress from the anxiety of the situation about her child in what is stated by the authors as “Culture of Fear.” She left work immediately and headed to the school. However, it was blocked off and could not drive directly up to the school. At this point, she abandoned her vehicle and ran to the school. Upon arriving the majority of the children were already loaded up and sent to multiple of hospitals in the area. However, during her search for me my mother was with another mother who was notified by officials at the scene that her son was deceased. During this catastrophic situation, the authorities could not tell my mother where I was at or even if I made it to a hospital. I am not real sure what family crisis stage she must have been in at this point, but I can assume being told if her son was alive or not was unknown. A good probability to say, she was in stress overload with the ambiguous loss state of mind until she could find me or receive official notification about my status. In addition, being with the woman who was just notified that her son is deceased did not help matters either. (p. 336, 342) During this chaos, my mother figured out which hospital I was at, when one of the local TV’s broadcasting stations provided news coverage live from the hospital. Guess who was being interviewed. Yes, it was I. A news reporter came up to me while I was eating a cookie and asked me “if I could tell him what happened at the school.” I began telling him about the event and what happened in my classroom. Well, my mother saw the broadcast from the gym TV monitor in the school. It was the only part of the school that was not destroyed by the tornado. Well, the disorganization phase was about to end to a certain degree with her knowing I was alive and well. Then the reorganization phase of us was quite of a reunion at the hospital. This family crisis made some changes dramatic changes in our lives. I know for a while the events impacted me with some nightmares of the tornado. I know for a long time when storms would form it would make me feel uneasy. But, over time I realized when the weather changed a tornado would not be formed all the time and it took certain weather conditions for that to happen with the help of school psychologist and support from our church. Prior to this period in our lives, my mother’s was a single parent struggling to make a living on her own and I was already in the process going to live with my father back in Ohio after the school year. It was due to her structural-functional lack of capability to provide economically the means to support us and the negative atmosphere that is referred by our co-authors family ecology that was a negative influence on me and safety factor for us. In lieu of this event the school had the parents and children meet with family counselors to work out the issues with this event. Also, we received support from our local community support organization like our local church. Also, our relatives was not in the area to help with this traumatic event with emotional support, but what our co-authors would describe as fictive kin would help provide that needed emotional and economic support for us. As I look back at this catastrophic event and I felt after reading this chapter helped me realize a few things about my mother and I. I felt that pileup of this event and other pre existing stressors had placed my family at nadir for disorganization but the resilience that we had to over come the panicle low what is termed by co-authors as nadir, the bottom point of our lives. We were able to overcome this situation because the close knit bond we had with each other to face adversity and sustain the family harmony was partly due to our family cultural norms and the support we had from the church and the fictive kin relationships that we had formed outside our nuclear family support groups. Overall, I felt this life event has made me a strong individual to face other adversities in my life that I faced growing up as a child and into my adult life. I look at it as another building block in this cognitive developmental phase that helps us build our character and personality through positive and negative nurturing experiences. As stated in the book with vulnerability and resilient some family crisis affect people in many different ways how they cope with it or buckle under the pressures they face due to their character development.